Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) [Paperback]

Mick Gidley (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521775736 | ISBN-13: 978-0521775731 | Publication Date: February 13, 2000

From the 1890s onward, Edward S. Curtis took thousands of photographs of Native Americans all over the West. These were published (1907-1930) in twenty volumes of illustrated text and twenty portfolios of photographs; the project was supported by Theodore Roosevelt and funded in part by J. Pierpont Morgan, and spawned exhibitions, postcards, magazine articles, lecture series, a "musicale," and the very first narrative documentary film. Neither a eulogy to Curtis' achievement nor a debunking of it, this book is an honest study of the project as a collective whole.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In his newest book, Gidley (American literature, Univ. of Leeds; American Photographs in Europe, Paul & Co., 1995) provides a balanced picture of the many aspects of Edward S. Curtis's work. From the 1890s onward, Curtis took thousands of photographs of Native Americans. These photographs were published in the North American Indian (1907-30) in 20 volumes of illustrated text and 20 portfolios of photographs. The author has examined historical documentation, including the letters and field memoirs of Curtis, principal ethnologist W.E. Myers, and their associates, to produce the first significant scholarly study of that projectAan effort that spawned exhibitions, postcards, lectures, a "musicale," and the first narrative documentary film. Gidley gives readers a succinct explanation of the substance of Curtis's prolific photography and has tried to reexamine the term vanishing or vanished people in Curtis's original sense. Recommended for public and academic libraries.AVicki Leslie Toy Smith, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"In this outstanding new volume, [Gidley] illuminates the multi-faceted nature of the photographer's enterprise, reprints original documents relating to the project, analyzes with insight some of the best known images and accompanying texts, and thereby places Curtis's opus within its complex historical context." Great Plains Quarterly

"Gidley gives readers a succinct explanation of the subject of Curtis's prolific photography....Recommended for public and academic libraries." Library Journal

"Gidley's descriptions of the process of the enterprise is fascinating; his analysis of the ideological, aesthetic, economic, and anthropological underpinnings is a model of development; and his assessment of the Curtis legacy is convincing. Strongly recommended for undergraduate libraries." Choice

"The strength of Gidley's work lies not only in the clarity and appeal of his prose but also in his particular approach to a difficult subject. His complex and engaging study demonstrates the value of postmodern theory while avoiding its pitfalls." Melinda Marie Jetteé, Pacific Northwest Quarterly

"...Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated is worth not only reading but keeping on the shelf as an important contribution to the study of white representations of Native American culture and Native American defiance thereto." Paola Gemme, American Studies in Europe

"It can be read as biography, social and intellectual history, and cultural criticism. It is a splendid addition to every American Studies library." American Studies International

"Gidley's readings of the images, however, are insightful, clear, and admirably restrained." Philip J. Deloria, Pacific Historical Review

"...Gidley connects..." Edward J. Gallagher, American Indian Quarterly

"In this outstanding new volume, he illuminates the multi-faceted nature of the photographer's enterprise, reprints original documents relating to the project, analyzes with insight some of the best known images and accompanying texts, and thereby places Curtis's opus within its complex historical context." Martha H. Kennedy, Great Plains Quarterly

"Edward S. CUrits and The North American Indian, Incorporated will quickly establish itself as an indispensable source for anyone with an interest in intercultural American literature." European Journal of American Culture

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521775736
• ISBN-13: 978-0521775731
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,091,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a great photographer, July 5, 2007

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) (Hardcover)

For those who have long admired Curtis' classic photos of Native Americans, but who have wondered to know more about Curtis himself, Gidley provides good background. He laboriously traces Curtis' life and habits. The prediliction for outdoors living is a constant theme of the book. Combined with his skills at photography. We see early experiences in studio photography. But Curtis seemed (luckily to history) to find that somewhat confining.

His subsequent travels throughout the American West brought his interests and talents into sharp focus. Letting him document what was believed to be a dying way of life. Which was perhaps largely true. Most of the natives in his photographs were no longer the plains nomads of American folklore.

This book does not reproduce many of Curtis' photos. Largely because you can find those elsewhere. Gidley concentrates on the details of his life.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work on Curtis, September 18, 2000

By 

Sarah Hamm-Alvarez - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) (Paperback)

This is an excellent series of discussions of the many different aspects of E.S. Curtis and his photographic and ethnographic project on the North American Indian. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in both background history of Curtis and his project, as well as an interesting interpretive perspective on Curtis and his work.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A poor portrayal of a brilliant body of work, May 24, 2009

By 

John R. Rowe "My Opinion" (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) (Paperback)

Gidley is cynical, pompous and likes to hear himself talk. Gidley reaches conclusions and represents facts based on inconclusive historical evidence such as newspaper stories from the days of Curtis's work. Unfortunately he doesn't tell us much about Curtis the man or the experiences Curtis had while assembling his body of work on North American Indians. Gidley writes with a lack of respect and lack of appreciation for what Curtis accomplished. There is no information about Curtis's photography or appreciation for Curtis's incredible body of work or the financial and physical challenges Curtis undertook. Gidley is an English Professor from Leeds, England who attempts to portray himself as an expert in anthropology, ethnology, art, photography and the history of North American Indians and their culture. Unfortunately this book fails to impress and instead reads like a boring academic dissertation or master's thesis. If you are looking for a good biography of Curtis or a story about his work this is not the book to read.